Old Codger
2008-04-16 16:16:25 UTC
Squalor, Misery, Disease and Death: the reality of British pig farms
Last week, Animal Aid visited a typical pig farm in order to compare
the welfare standards we found with those claimed by the pig farming
industry in recent weeks. The conditions we witnessed are a world away
from those featured in the ‘Pigs Are Worth It’ campaign.
A dead sow was dumped outside the units, while row upon row of new
mothers lay trapped in filthy, barren farrowing crates, barely able to
move. Bin bags containing dead piglets and stillborn litters swept up
with the trash lay alongside dustbins overflowing with discarded
veterinary products. This is the reality of British pig farms and it
is a disgrace. And still pig farmers claim we have the ‘best animal
welfare standards in the world’. That would be funny if the reality
wasn’t so tragic.
*********************************
Squalor, Misery, Disease and Death: the reality of British pig farms
Posted 14 April 2008
http://www.animalaid.org.uk/h/n/NEWS/news_factory/ALL/1768//
Last week, Animal Aid visited a typical pig farm in order to compare
the welfare standards we found with those claimed by the pig farming
industry in recent weeks. The conditions we witnessed are a world away
from those featured in the ‘Pigs Are Worth It’ campaign.*
In the squalid farrowing unit, rows of new mothers were trapped inside
metal crates with no room to even turn around or take a step forward.
They were able to stand in one position only or lay on the dirty
concrete floor. No bedding was afforded these poor creatures. Some
carried wounds. The piglets could reach their mother’s teats but they
could not be nurtured.
A chart in the farrowing unit tallied the dead.
The ‘fattening unit’ was similarly filthy and barren. Here, large
groups of young pigs lived and slept in a small concrete cell on a
bare, slatted floor with no bedding. By law, pigs must be offered
manipulable materials to keep their active young minds stimulated.
These animals were given a single metal chain, which hung from the
ceiling. Some animals were lame, and one young gilt was barely able to
walk.
Dumped outside lay a dead sow. On opening bin bags, we found dead and
stillborn piglets who had simply been swept up along with the litter.
No animal could survive such appalling conditions unaided, and these
pigs are no exception. Evidence of the massive array of drugs with
which they are dosed was found in bins overflowing with empty
veterinary bottles and used syringes. They included vaccines and drugs
to treat enzootic pneumonia, wasting syndrome, coccidiosis, swine
erysipelas, Lawsonia intracellularis and Porcine Reproductive &
Respiratory Syndrome. Farmers can administer these to pigs right up
until slaughter, indicating that residues may be ingested when the
pigs’ meat is eaten.
Says Animal Aid Head of Campaigns, Kate Fowler-Reeves:
‘While pig farmers bemoan their lot and beg the public to ‘Save our
Bacon’, pigs are suffering untold horrors on British pig farms. The
images presented by the industry do not remotely resemble the
conditions we have witnessed in the years we have been investigating
pig farms. At the most recent – a typically atrocious farm – a dead
sow was dumped outside the units, while row upon row of new mothers
lay trapped in filthy, barren farrowing crates, barely able to move.
Bin bags containing dead piglets and stillborn litters swept up with
the trash lay alongside dustbins overflowing with discarded veterinary
products. This is the reality of British pig farms and it is a
disgrace. And still pig farmers claim we have the ‘best animal welfare
standards in the world’. That would be funny if the reality wasn’t so
tragic.’
*In the autumn of 2007, the British Pig Executive ran an advertising
campaign to encourage consumers to buy British pig meat. One advert
that was placed in several national newspapers stated: ‘Pig farmers in
the UK already face higher costs than those in Europe, largely due to
our higher standards of pig welfare.’ The advert shows a
healthy-looking pig in a straw-filled pen out in the sunshine. A
second advert, which also ran nationally, shows pigs living outside
under a huge sky. The text reads: ‘The logo at the bottom of this
page, the Pigmeat Quality Standards Mark, is proof that farmers care
about the welfare of their animals.’
In January 2008, the £1.5 million ‘Save our Bacon’ campaign was
launched by Waitrose and Farmers Weekly, and supported by the British
Pig Executive and celebrity chefs.
Last week, Animal Aid visited a typical pig farm in order to compare
the welfare standards we found with those claimed by the pig farming
industry in recent weeks. The conditions we witnessed are a world away
from those featured in the ‘Pigs Are Worth It’ campaign.
A dead sow was dumped outside the units, while row upon row of new
mothers lay trapped in filthy, barren farrowing crates, barely able to
move. Bin bags containing dead piglets and stillborn litters swept up
with the trash lay alongside dustbins overflowing with discarded
veterinary products. This is the reality of British pig farms and it
is a disgrace. And still pig farmers claim we have the ‘best animal
welfare standards in the world’. That would be funny if the reality
wasn’t so tragic.
*********************************
Squalor, Misery, Disease and Death: the reality of British pig farms
Posted 14 April 2008
http://www.animalaid.org.uk/h/n/NEWS/news_factory/ALL/1768//
Last week, Animal Aid visited a typical pig farm in order to compare
the welfare standards we found with those claimed by the pig farming
industry in recent weeks. The conditions we witnessed are a world away
from those featured in the ‘Pigs Are Worth It’ campaign.*
In the squalid farrowing unit, rows of new mothers were trapped inside
metal crates with no room to even turn around or take a step forward.
They were able to stand in one position only or lay on the dirty
concrete floor. No bedding was afforded these poor creatures. Some
carried wounds. The piglets could reach their mother’s teats but they
could not be nurtured.
A chart in the farrowing unit tallied the dead.
The ‘fattening unit’ was similarly filthy and barren. Here, large
groups of young pigs lived and slept in a small concrete cell on a
bare, slatted floor with no bedding. By law, pigs must be offered
manipulable materials to keep their active young minds stimulated.
These animals were given a single metal chain, which hung from the
ceiling. Some animals were lame, and one young gilt was barely able to
walk.
Dumped outside lay a dead sow. On opening bin bags, we found dead and
stillborn piglets who had simply been swept up along with the litter.
No animal could survive such appalling conditions unaided, and these
pigs are no exception. Evidence of the massive array of drugs with
which they are dosed was found in bins overflowing with empty
veterinary bottles and used syringes. They included vaccines and drugs
to treat enzootic pneumonia, wasting syndrome, coccidiosis, swine
erysipelas, Lawsonia intracellularis and Porcine Reproductive &
Respiratory Syndrome. Farmers can administer these to pigs right up
until slaughter, indicating that residues may be ingested when the
pigs’ meat is eaten.
Says Animal Aid Head of Campaigns, Kate Fowler-Reeves:
‘While pig farmers bemoan their lot and beg the public to ‘Save our
Bacon’, pigs are suffering untold horrors on British pig farms. The
images presented by the industry do not remotely resemble the
conditions we have witnessed in the years we have been investigating
pig farms. At the most recent – a typically atrocious farm – a dead
sow was dumped outside the units, while row upon row of new mothers
lay trapped in filthy, barren farrowing crates, barely able to move.
Bin bags containing dead piglets and stillborn litters swept up with
the trash lay alongside dustbins overflowing with discarded veterinary
products. This is the reality of British pig farms and it is a
disgrace. And still pig farmers claim we have the ‘best animal welfare
standards in the world’. That would be funny if the reality wasn’t so
tragic.’
*In the autumn of 2007, the British Pig Executive ran an advertising
campaign to encourage consumers to buy British pig meat. One advert
that was placed in several national newspapers stated: ‘Pig farmers in
the UK already face higher costs than those in Europe, largely due to
our higher standards of pig welfare.’ The advert shows a
healthy-looking pig in a straw-filled pen out in the sunshine. A
second advert, which also ran nationally, shows pigs living outside
under a huge sky. The text reads: ‘The logo at the bottom of this
page, the Pigmeat Quality Standards Mark, is proof that farmers care
about the welfare of their animals.’
In January 2008, the £1.5 million ‘Save our Bacon’ campaign was
launched by Waitrose and Farmers Weekly, and supported by the British
Pig Executive and celebrity chefs.